Labor Inducing Frittata??

Well, its Wednesday, December 22nd and by all rational predictions we should have a newborn baby boy in our arms - but we don't.  As of the last ultrasound, on Friday, he was already 8lbs 8 oz and more than ready to make his appearance in the world.  Almost a week later, we can assume he has gained almost a half pound more, which means we no longer have a big baby but a REALLY big baby.  

Like good parents-to-be, we have been trying everything we can think of to get labor moving.  My wish would be to not evict induce him out of my womb and to not have a c-section, which means that he can't get that much bigger.  So, bring on the walking, sitting on the yoga ball, sex and spicy foods!  

Dan and I have another appointment today to discuss our options moving forward.  So, this morning, I thought I'd try my hand at a spicy frittata to see if we could convince baby Siefert to evacuate come on out on his own.  I had a recipe for a frittata something like this, but I couldn't find it this morning, so I decided to improvise my own.  Hopefully this will speed up the process, so that next time I blog I'll have not just one adorable observer, but two.

Meet Luna, our lovable tortoiseshell cat.

This is more of a weekend or brunch dish.  All of the preparation and cooking took about an hour (including photo breaks).  But, if you plan ahead (like we sort of did) you can prepare enough bacon and vegetables for a couple more rounds of frittata throughout the week - then all you would have to do is the cooking, which would be about 15 minutes.

(aka - Kick Him Out Frittata)

4 slices of turkey bacon

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/3 to a 1/2 of a green pepper

1/3 to a 1/2 of a red pepper

1/3 to a 1/2 of a yellow pepper

2 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

salt to taste (I used two pinches)

4 eggs

2 tablespoons milk (or soy milk)

1/4 to a 1/2 cup shredded mexican blend cheese

1.  Chop bacon into small pieces and cook over medium-high heat until crispy.

2.  While bacon is cooking, begin chopping peppers and garlic.  I find that the best way to get the flesh off a pepper is to hold it by its stem and slice in a downward motion around the ribs of the pepper.

Once all the flesh of the peppers has been removed, dice.  For me, it is easiest to slice each segment the long way and then to turn them about 90 degrees and chop.

My photographer (Dan) thought it necessary to show you the side effects of blogging about food - he often says that we should put a sticker over the MacBook label on my Mac to replace it with "Cookbook".

I chopped all of the peppers, but because they were so big, we decided we only needed about 1/3 of each pepper.  So, as I chopped, I placed the extras in tupperware containers to save for another meal.  Earlier I said that I "sort of" prepared for making this meal again - while I did chop enough peppers for two more frittatas, I didn't cook enough bacon or chop enough garlic...

I struggled for a long time with peeling garlic until I heard this unbelievably useful tip on Food Network. (I watch a lot of Food Network.)  Once you have your clove removed from the garlic head, chop off a little bit of the top end (where it is hard and flat).  Then, set the broad side of your knife on the garlic head and smash it with the heel of your hand.  The peel will come off easily and in one piece.

I also like to die my garlic into pretty small pieces.  This can be challenging as well.  I slice it the long way, then just let my knife go all over until the pieces are a good size.  Probably not the best way to chop garlic, but it works for me.

(As an aside - has anyone else noticed how incredibly swollen my fingers look in these photos?! )

3.  When the bacon has finished cooking, remove from the pan.  I like to set it on a plate covered with a paper towel so that some of the grease will drain off.  Also, if you have an assistant in the kitchen with you, make sure that they don't steal too much of your ingredients.

4.  Add the olive oil to the pan and let it heat slightly, then add vegetables and spices and stir thoroughly to combine.

5.  Cover and cook over medium-high heat for approximately 5 minutes, or until tender.

6.  While peppers and garlic are cooking, combine eggs and milk in a small bowl.

7.  When vegetables are done, add egg mixture to the pan.  Stir slightly to cover the vegetables evenly with egg.

8.  Sprinkle cheese on top of eggs and vegetables.  

9.  Cover and cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes, or until the eggs have set.

To serve the frittata, run a hard spatula around the edge of the pan.  It shouldn't stick to the pan as the grease from the bacon and the olive oil should have made a nice nonstick coating.

And thats it - enjoy!  It may not look like much, but it was really tasty.  We'll see if it does the trick.  Dan gave this one a 3 on the HRS.

Until next time,

Banana Blackberry Almond Bread

I am officially 39 weeks pregnant today.  The countdown clock says that baby Siefert will arrive in 6 days. Friday was my last day of work, so now I wait.  I've determined that waiting for labor to start is sort of like waiting for Christmas morning and watching a car wreck in slow motion.  I am both extremely excited to see the little one, to give him kisses and hold his little fingers and toes in my hands, and also nervous and anxious and worried what labor will be like and if I'll be able to do it.  And then I think, of course I'll be able to do it!  As one of my favorite people on the planet says, "I am an all powerful Amazon warrior, not just some sniveling girl!" (That's Ani DiFranco, for everyone who doesn't know.)  I will be able to do it - like the many many women who have come before me!  I am woman - here me roar (and most likely scream and curse and cry).

Today, since I still have some semblance of energy, I thought I'd wait and cook.  We've had a couple of bananas in our fruit bowl for much too long, and what is it that we do with over-ripe bananas?  Make banana bread of course!

This morning I found a recipe on Food Network that sounded delicious, so I used that as my base.  Banana bread usually has walnuts in it, but Dan doesn't really care for walnuts, so my first substitution was slivered almonds instead of walnuts.  While pulling out the rest of the ingredients, I saw some blackberries in the fridge that I had bought on sale a couple of days ago, with the intent of having them in my cereal in the morning.  I had them once - unbelievably sweet, sweeter than I remembered blackberries being - but I haven't been much in the mood for breakfasts lately (perhaps due to the impending arrival).  So, for fear that I would go into labor soon and the blackberries would go to waste, I decided to add them in too.  Wah-lah: Banana Blackberry Almond Bread was born.

(adapted from Momma Callie's Banana Nut Bread from Down Home with the Neely's)

1 stick of butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 large very ripe bananas

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup blackberries

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and put a rack on the middle shelf.  Spray a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.  (May loaf pan was 8.5x5x4 - anything close will do.)

2.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

3.  In a separate small bowl, mash the bananas, leaving a bit of texture.  My bananas were so ripe that this was extremely easy.  I used a dinner fork and it seemed to do the trick perfectly.

4.  In a separate bowl, or a stand-mixer bowl, combine the butter and sugar.  Cream until light and fluffy.  

I had a discussion with my mother last night about when to use which of the stand-mixer attachments.  I always just used the whisk-type attachment, not really knowing what the other ones were for.  She said that for creaming things and making cookie doughs, she likes to use the flat beater, and leaves the whisk for things that are supposed to be fluffy - like meringues.  So I tried the flat beater on this and it worked perfectly.  See mom - sometimes I do listen to your advice!

5.  Add the eggs.  Stir in the mashed bananas, sour cream and vanilla and beat just until combined.

6.  Add the dry ingredients.  My stand-mixer came with a great no-splatter attachment that I like to use when adding flour so that the flour dust doesn't end up everywhere.  I pour the dry mix through the spout, little by little.

The batter should look something like this after the dry ingredients are added.

7.  Stir in the almonds.

8.  Coarsely chop the blackberries using a sharp knife.  They are too big to put in the bread whole, but you don't want to mash them too much so that they loose all of their texture.

Fold the chopped blackberries into the batter.

9. Pour the batter into the pan.  Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

10.  Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

I don't know about you, but I like bread when it is still warm.  I cut off a slice almost immediately and it held together perfectly.  Mmmm.

Dan hasn't tried this one yet, so I'll have to give you an update later on the Husband's Rating Scale.  Smells pretty good though, so I'd imagine it'll get at least a 3.

If I go into labor within the next couple of days, I most likely won't be back on the blog until after Christmas, so let me take the opportunity now to wish you all a very merry, joyous and reflective Christmas.  A prayer for us all - that we don't lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas behind all the hustle and bustle of the day.  May we all know the joy of family, friends and giving of ourselves for the people we love.

Until next time,